Spain 1 ( Iniesta 116)

Netherlands 0

A game that had been hyped to the heavens was a real damp squib as the occassion seemed to get to two of the best footballing sides in the world. The Spanish just about deserved to win it although the Dutch showed superb steel defensively to stop the Spanish having too much joy. The joy came in the closing seconds of extra time as Andes Iniesta netted the goal that made the Spanish the world champions the first to win the trophy after losing their opening game & the first european side to win it on another continent.

The  first clumsy tackle of the evening came only 2 minutes in from  Robin van Persie as he caught Sergio Busquets, and the Dutch seemed to have been controlling the opening stages very well.

The first chance of this World Cup final came on the 5th minute, Xavi whipped a free-kick in from the Spanish right and Sergio Ramos bravely got there first, powering a header goalwards that the big Dutch stopper does well to turn away to his right.

Iker Casillas admitted he was feeling nervous in the build-up, and there are hints some of his team-mates were too as only on the 12th minute  Sergio Ramos nearly threw the ball straight to Dirk Kuyt only for Carles Puyol to intervene. At the other end, Ramos went past Dirk Kuyt only for John Heitinga to whack away inside his own six-yard box, and a moment later David Villa volleyed into the side-netting from an angle on the left.

After 15 minutes you got a real indication that this wasnt going to be a classy game on 16 and 18 minutes we had our first yellow cards, no messing around from Howard Webb.  Mark van Bommel committed his first foul of the evening , going in late on former Barca colleague Carles Puyol. Robin van Persie is then booked by Howard Webb for a late challenge on Joan Capdevila, his second of the night. Then, Webb flashed yellow at Carles Puyol for catching Arjen Robben on his ankle. By the looks of things these wernt going to be the only yellow cards handed out by the Englishman.

The Dutch were giving the ball away a bit too much. Spain though hadn’t quite got into their very best rhythm, in losing so much possession the Dutch were getting very frustrated, and the most obvious booking of the final, Mark van Bommel lost his head for a second and slid straight through the back of Andres Iniesta. No choice for Howard Webb there, the Spaniards wernt exactly keeping their cool, Sergio Ramos was cautioned for fouling Dirk Kuyt. Webb’s life getting harder by the second in Johannesburg.

This game started to look very rough and it was indeed looking like a horror show, with the amount of stoppages and yellow cards issued, and the cards just kept coming,  with only 29 minutes gone in the game 4 players had been noted in Howard Webbs book, and Nigel de Jong became the fifth and it really should have been a straight red, for a chest-high boot on Xabi Alonso. At this stage the game had yet to see a first real chance for either team.

There were far too many stoppages for the game to flow properly in the first half. The blame by no means could be pointed at Howard Webb, but it was getting quite niggly. He gave a free-kick for a non-foul on Arjen Robben, before the Dutch almost score when the ball takes a horrible bounce as they tried to give it back to Spain after an injury stoppage. Iker Casillas is at full stretch to feather it behind, but the Netherlands gave the corner straight to the Spanish captain.

The opening stages of the second half saw alot more control and passing and at last some chances.  straight away Arjen Robben turned beautifully away from Xabi Alonso inside the Spanish half, but his slide-rule pass to Robin van Persie was just too strong for the Arsenal striker. Good start to the second half and a good change in the pace of this game.

It appeared to be all Holland in the second half. The Netherlands’ turn to attack as Gregory van der Wiel did well to get forward down their right, but his cross along the six-yard box was a good 10 yards ahead of any Dutch forwards and Spain cleared comfortably. It’s a little livelier, though.  Spain had yet to but in any threats on the Dutch goal.

On 52 minutes Arjen Robben hit a speculative left-footer from 30 yards, but Iker Casillas was paying attention and saved low down to his left.  Moments later Giovanni van Bronckhorst was booked for sticking his arm out and bringing Sergio Ramos about 25 yards from the Dutch goal. You could feel Howard Webbs first red card was looming.

On 56 minutes John Heitinga kicked David Villa after the ball had gone and Webb had no choice but to flash yellow once more. The players were not making this easy. The Spaniards were furious. Moments later Andres Iniesta fouled Wesley Sneijder and this time Howard Webb kept s his cards in his pocket. Webb had done well, most of the yellows so far had been warranted. In fact, he was probably trying hard to keep it 11 v 11. The players certainly weren’t.

It took an hour for the first substitution to be made Pedro was taken off for Spain and tricky Sevilla winger Jesus Navas came on in his place. Seconds later, Robin van Persie headed Dirk Kuyt’s cross from the Dutch left over, under pressure from Carles Puyol.

Biggest moment of the match came just over the hour mark. Wesley Sneijder, on the halfway line, managed to slip a pass forward that Gerard Pique slightly misjudged and suddenly Arjen Robben was clean through. Time seemed to stand still as Robben got in on his trusty left boot, but after picking his spot Iker Casillas made a brilliant save with his legs.

After Arjen Robben’s miss, a Spanish corner found Sergio Ramos unmarked, six yards out in the middle of the area, but he could only power a header over. A minute later he still had his hands on his head.  Spain were cranking it up a bit at Soccer City, they after 80 minutes looked the likelier of the two teams to nick a late winner.  Some gaps were starting to open up for them, and even Xavi was pushing forward more.

Definite gaps appeared. Andres Iniesta jinked his way into the Dutch area down the left and he is only prevented from shooting by a desperate though excellent challenge from Wesley Sneijder.  There wasnt much time to rescue something from this game in the regulation 90 minutes before it going to half an hour of extra time and possibly penalties, but only one more chance came in the 90.

Arjen Robben did Carles Puyol for pace, burning past the defender as they chased a flick on into the Spanish half and with Puyol trying to haul Robben back, he stayed on his feet, only to be met by Iker Casillas, who raced off his line to gather. Robben raced up to Howard Webb and demanded a free-kick – to be fair to the Bayern winger, he was penalised for staying on his feet there. So that was it for the 90 minutes and both sides took a break before an extra half an hour of play.

There was certainly more intent from both sides in the opening stages of extra time as neither would have wanted the game to be settled on penalties.  Straight away though, the Spanish bench were furious because they wanted a penalty for John Heitinga’s foul on Xavi inside the box. Howard Webb pointed to the corner spot instead. Moments later, it was Cesc Fabregas’s turn to be distraught. He ran on to a perfectly weighted through ball from Andres Iniesta and it looked to the whole world he had  to score, but the Arsenal captain’s shot was blocked brilliantly by Maarten Stekelenburg.

OHH JESUS!!!!!  on 104 minutes Jesus Navas got into space down the Spanish right and surged into the area – his shot took a wicked deflection off Gio van Bronckhorst and flew into the side-netting. Could’ve gone anywhere.  That was it for the first half of the extra time and it was mind boggling to how it had ended 0-0.

It was only a matter of time, but was controversial. Andres Iniesta plays a one-two and latched on to the return, but he went down under a challenge from Heitinga, who was shown his second yellow of the game by Howard Webb, the first he has given in the competition but the question remained was it going to be his last . Xavi slamed the resulting free-kick over the bar.

On 113 minutes Arjen Robbenwas flagged offside and the Spaniards crowded around Howard Webb trying to get him booked for playing on after the whistle. It’s unseemly and unnecessary. The game desperatly needed a goal.

And it came. Fernando Torres got the ball on the left and cliped a cross into the box. It was half cleared to Cesc Fabregas and he found Andres Iniesta in the area – the little Barca magician took a touch before volleying past Maarten Stekelenburg. He whips his shirt off and the Spaniards went  mental. Was that the goal to win Spain the World Cup for the very first time. 2 minutes were added on at the end of the half hour and the Spanish were desperate to keep the ball.

Spain scored the latest goal ever in a world cup final, they also became the first team who lost their opening game to go on to win the competition. At times this seemed like a horrible game but it did pick up in terms of pace as time went on. At the end of the day a truely deserved victory for officially now the best footballing nation in the world.

Soccer City will look like a colour blind clown’s wardrobe tonight as Holland & Spain’s fans shake their flags & blow their vuvuzeelas to cheer on the two sides who will contest the World Cup final. A tournament that has been a huge success financially & socially for the host nation of South Africa has had it’s moments of laughter(Engerlund’s disallowed goal), it’s moments of drama & the odd bit of barefaced cheating(Luis Suarez’s handball against Ghana). Not too many people will argue with the final pairing as both were consistently good throughout the competition as more vaunted & fancied sides fell by the wayside. The Argentinians, inspired by the madcap lunacy of the living God that is Diego Armando Maradona played by far the best football but turned out to have a marshmallow defence when those pesky Germans were having one of their more ruthless afternoons.  A functional Brazil side never really convinced, a youthful German side surprised & a Uruguyan side inspired by the golden maned lion that is Diego Forlan astonished the World by making it to the semi finals & gave us the game of the tournament against a brave Ghana. The last two finalists World Champions Italy & France had both qualified at Ireland’s expense & they got exactly what their play deserved- a first round exit. The permanent conundrum that is England remains unsolved as yet again reality failed to meet arrogant expectations.

This was the World Cup where the vuvuzeela became  the constant soundtrack & where an octopus named Paul suddenly started to make Paddy Power & his colleagues sweat like the poor chap who’s had to run around dressed as the tournament mascot.

And then there were two- Holland, the country who gave us total football in the 1970′s & saw them lose two World deciders in 74 & 78 to West Germany & Argentina. The Spanish are the reigning European Champions tring to emulate the Germany of 72 & 74 & the France of 98 & 2000 by holding both the major baubles at the same time.

Both sides owe a huge debt to the great Johan Cruijff who has spent time moulding youngsters in both camps. His association with Barcelona has seen him watch the Catalan backbone of this wonderful Spanish side grow & breathe on the biggest stages of all, while the Dutch still look for the approval of the godfather of total football. Who will win? We will know later tonight, but it would be fitting if we get the game this tournament deserves, one which will put a smile on a billion faces around the World , one of the sides winning by the odd goal in seven would be an ideal scenario but lets just hope that the 22 players on the park produce some magic to make Maradona,Pele, Platini,Zidane & Cruijff nod their heads in agreement their hands aloft applauding today’s generation on the biggest stage of their lives. Howard Webb- the World is watching- no pressure mate.

Spain 1(Puyol 73)

Germany 0

Spain put in a battling performance tonight in Durban and in doing so earned their place in the final of the World Cup against The Netherlands on Sunday. The shaggy haired Spaniard Carles Puyol scored the games only goal to send Spain to their first ever final

The Spaniards came into this evenings do or die encounter knowing that maintaining early possession was the key or else they would be looking at a horrible defeat to a German side who came into this game on great form, and the first 10 minutes belonged to Spain.  Germany conceded more possession in their games against both England and Argentina, but they barely had a kick  within that period so very patient stuff from Spain.

The first opportunity came in the 6th minute for the determined Spanish, a Brilliant pass forward from Pedro into the German box reached David Villa who got in behind Aren Friedrich, but he had to slide to get on the ball and Manuel Neuer raced off his line to block.  Germany had not started well  they were being put under so much pressure by Spain on the rare occasions they get hold of the ball.

The  first moment of uncertainty at the back for Spain came on the 10th minute as Gerard Pique tried to let the ball run out and Miroslav Klose so nearly stole possession, while moments later Mesut Ozil was flagged offside it was a very tight call.

The Spanish kept their wits about them in the first half and certainly won the  half in terms of possession and chances  created and it gave an indication we may be having a Spain vs Holland final. On the half hour  though perhaps just a first sign of slight frustration that the European Champions hadn’t gone ahead from Xabi Alonso as he slammed a right-foot shot wide from 30 yards. It was Spain’s fourth shot of the evening – Germany  had yet to threaten the Spanish goal.

There was one moment of pure chance for the Germans right before the break, Mesut Ozil got on to a pass forward and he worked his way into the box, but Sergio Ramos got across and Ozil went down in the  box. He wanted a penalty, but the ref waves play on. The half ended scoreless.

Spain started the second half brightly and straight away Sergio Ramos got Pedro away down the right, but only had David Villa in the box for him to hit and it flew over. The Spaniards kept pushing forward and moments later went even closer, and it was magical stuff from Pedro down the Spanish right – he somehow kept going  to the edge of the German box and when it looked like he’d run out of steam,  he manages to pull it back for Xabi Alonso, who promptly spanked it wide. Spain were starting to get very frustrated but they were keeping their cool.

On the hour mark, Spain might not have got much closer without scoring. Pedro had a shot from the edge of the box well saved by Manuel Neuer and then from the rebound Andres Iniesta came fizzing cross along the six-yard box just evades David Villa at the far post. Then, Pedro fired just wide from 20 yards. It was ALL Spain.

More frustration for Spain on 65, they just could not get that final ball right on the edge of the Germany box. This time Xabio Alonso and Pedro and Xavi were all involved before Andres Iniesta’s cross drifted behind. Fernando Torres started warming up. A Spanish goal was looming.

And they got it, it may have taken 73 minutes on non stop chances but their hard work and determination paid off. Xavi flung over a corner from the left and Barcelona captain Carles Puyol climbed highest to absolutely thump a header from 10 yards past Manuel Neuer. Fabulous header – and not a short pass in sight. Joachim Loew was facing the biggest test of his managerial career. He just had 16 minutes to get a goal back and keep Germany in the World Cup.

With only 10 minutes to go Spain could have and really should have put the game to bed and looked twards their first ever World Cup Final. A German attack brook down and Spain were two-on-one – but Pedro dallied and procrastinated and got tackled instead of playing in an unmarked Fernando Torres. Pedro apologised, but the Spanish bench were horrified. He would turn into the man to blame if Germany were to somehow find their way back in the dieing minutes.

Germany had one chance, Xabi Alonso won the ball from Mesut Ozil but brought the midfielder down too and  a free-kick for Germany 40 yards out. After a couple of balls into the box are cleared, Carles Puyol fouled Bastian Schweinsteiger right on the edge of the Spain box but nothing was given. Pedro is then hauled off for Spain, with David Silva coming on.

In the last minute of regulation time, Andres Iniesta found Fernando Torres and he was desperate to create a shooting chance, but Arne Friedrich gets in well to boot the ball behind for a corner. Spain were just eating up the clock, but the game wasn’t yet over as 3 minutes were added on by the referee.

There wasn’t to be late drama in Durban and Spain deservedly earned their place in their first ever World Cup final against the Dutch. It wasn’t the most spectacular game, but anything that came in this match came for the men in red. 1-0 the final Score, Soccer City awaits.

Netherlands 3 (Van Bronckhorst, Sneijder,Robben)

Uruguay 2 (Forlan, Pereira)

The air in Amsterdam will be thick with marajuana smoke after the Dutch made it to their third world cup final beating Uruguay 3-2 this evening. The Dutch side held on in a dramatic finale and move on to their first World Cup final since 1978.

The Dutch, who have twice gone to a final without lifting the trophy, will now face the winners of Germany and Spain for on Sunday.

And they had Wesley Sniejder and Arjen Robben to thank, with a second half assault downing the plucky South Americans in Cape Town. Giovanni van Bronckhurst opened the scoring early on with with a clear contender for goal of the tournament, firing home from 30 yards, only for the impressive Diego Forlan to level the scores right on the brink of half time.

Uruguay snatched a surprise goal in injury time through Maxi Pereira, but another equaliser proved to be far too much for them.

Luis Suarez was missing through suspension following his quarter-final red card, but will now return for the third-fourth play-off.  Holland meanwhile called on Khalid Boulahrouz with Gregory van der Wiel also missing.

It was the Dutch who carved out the first opportunity as Sneijder’s cross was punched straight to Kuyt by Fernando Muslera. But the Liverpool striker smashed his shot over the bar after controlling well enough. Uruguay were unlucky to be on the wrong end of two questionable  offside calls before going 1-0 down. Van Bronckhorst was in an unthreatening position 30 yards out before he let rip with a thunderbolt that swerved past Muslera and in off the far post.  As Holland started to turn the screw Maxi Pereira was booked for a foul on Arjen Robben.

Martin Caceras was also cautioned shortly afterwards after striking Demy de Zeeuw flush in the face as he attempted an overhead kick.  Sneijder ran over to the incident and pushed Caceras to the ground and was booked as well. Caceras produced a great tackle at the other end to rob Robben who looked like shooting.

The match was starting to get messy though and Van Bronckhorst was not pleased when Edinson Cavani went down following an incidental tackle in the box. But Diego Forlan eventually struck back for Uruguay four minutes before half time.  Like Van Bronckhorst’s there seemed little threat when the striker picked the ball up 40 yards out.

The Dutch introduced Rafael van der Vaart at half time, but he could not shake up a cagey first 20 minutes of the second half. It took a Forlan free-kick, beaten away by Stekelenburg, to kick start proceedings.  Rather than fire up his own side, it prompted the Dutch to attack with Robben guilty of firing high and wide on the rebound when a ball across the box would have been wiser.

But on 70 minutues Sneijder struck home to make it 2-1, with a deflected effort that could have seen Van Persie flagged offside. With the Arsenal striker interfering with the last man, Uruguay were fuming. Robben however ensured their fury could not be turned into a fightback, when he doubled the lead just moments later.  Kuyt cut inside and delivered an inch perfect cross from the left, which the Bayern Munich winger nodded home to send his fans into raptures.

Pereira pulled one back in stoppage time but it was too late to halt Holland’s progress into the final.

Uruguay are preparing for their biggest game in 40-years. They’ve not reached the semi-finals of the World Cup since 1970 – and take on Holland in South Africa tonight. The South American country are two time winners of the competition but haven’t made it this far since 1970. The Dutch are two time finalists but they have never gone the full distance and lifted the trophy. They will be on a high after beating samba boys Brazil in the last round.

For a full preview of tonight’s match, here’s Sportspeak’s chief soccer correspondent Dan “Ptchside” Pitcher with this report.
 

Germany have comprehensively sealed their place in the semi final of the World Cup Following a truly breathtaking 4-0 victory over original favourites Argentina in Capetown this afternoon.

The game was a firey encounter right from the whistle. Only 2 minutes into the game and referee Ravshan Irmatov from Uzbekistan had to give his first calming down orders after Miroslav Klose tried to go through Javier Mascherano for a short cut. You would mostly see that foul the other way around. It didn’t take long for the games first goal.

On 3 minutes  a tournament full of woeful goalkeeping  continued. Bastian Schweinsteiger curled over a wickedly inswinging free-kick from the left and after Thomas Mueller glanced it towards goal, Sergio Romero  seemed like he was in no-man’s land and the ball hit his right leg before going into the net. Fantastic start for the Germans.

From the goal Argentina seemed a little desperate to get a foothold on the game but instead Nicolas Otamendi fouled Arne Friedrich and he picked  up the game’s first yellow this did not seem like a confident Argentinian team and needed something to spark the game into life for them.

Argentina were starting to find space of their own mid way through  when they managed to get forward, but Angel di Maria’s cross from the left wasn’t close to being accurate enough and Germany cleared.  Mascherano then needlessly slides in recklessly on Bastian Schweinsteiger, but he escapes a booking he was very lucky.

It certainly wasn’t Argentina’s half and were un lucky when from  Lionel Messi’s  free kick hit the wall, but from the rebound Argentina got  the ball in the net – however, you could choose between any of four players who were caught offside it was the correct decision but a let off for the Germans.

Argentina seemed very frustrated and Germany were always going to go into the break with the lead. Diego Maradona looked very annoyed and he certainly wasn’t going to be giving his team a kiss and a hug during the 15 minute break. The man who could do great things with his feet (and hands) during his playing career, would have been trying to think of new uses for them.

Maradona’s troops came out more intent in the second half and went very close straight away. Germany gave the ball away and Angel di Maria hit a screamer with his left foot from about 25 yards that had Manuel Neuer scrambling along his line before it drifts a couple of yards wide of his right-hand post. That seemed to be it for good chances for Argentina.

Carlos Tevez hit one from 25 yards, but it was far too straight and a comfortable save for Manuel Neuer. Moments later Gonzalo Higuain shoot  from an angle on the left and despite some poor handling, Neuer gathered at the second attempt.

Germany pulled off a great finish moments later and had their place in the semi final written on stone. From his position on the floor just outside the area, Thomas Mueller somehow found a pass to Lukas Podolski on the left and his perfect pass along the six-yard box was nudged in by Klosehis 13th goal in World Cup finals. If that wasn’t enough to prove they were going through well maybe a third goal would have.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, who ran the game from start until finish, jinked past a couple of half-hearted tackles down the Germany left and when he got to the byeline his finds the perfect pass for Arne Friedrich who scored his very first goal for his country to make it 3-0, a goal he will never forget.

This game wasn’t  just a beating, it was a destruction  and the destroyer-in-chief iwas Bastian Schweinsteiger. On this performance, you’d be hard pressed to find a more influential footballer in the world, he played  absolutely magnificent.

Argentina were doing some token attacking, but it was utterly futile. Lionel Messi shoot from 25 yards again, but again it flies into the arms of Manuel Neuer. He has added himself to names like Ronaldo and Rooney who have flopped in this competition.

The Germans have been known as a team who never let the foot off the pedal if they hold a comfortable lead and that continued with one minute to go. Germany broke with pace as Lukas Podolski sent Mesut Ozil away down the left and his floated cross landed perfectly for Miroslav Klose to volley into the corner past Sergio Romero. Klose now has 14 goals in World Cups, one behind the great Ronaldo. One.

That was one of the most stunningly one-sided World Cup quarter-finals you could ever imagine seeing. Diego Maradona trudges on to the pitch to shake hands and commiserate with his players.  Don’t cry for me, Argentina. Maxi Rodriguez and some of his team-mates were in tears.

The World Cup 2010 saw it’s first epic match as Uruguay stopped Ghana becoming Africa’s first ever semi finalists in the most dramatic fashion as the South American Dark horses just edged into a semi showdown with the fellow dark horses Holland who shocked Brazil earlier in the day.

The quarter final that nobody would have predicted prior to the start of the tournament saw  the greatest finish since the European Cup final win by Manchester United in Barcelona in 1999 as the two produced one of the most entertaining matches of World Cup 2010  as both Uruguay & Ghana played with abandon as they both tried to secure a semi final spot against the Dutch, producing a breathless two hours of football to warm the cockles worldwide from Accra to Montevideo.

The two sides were finally separated by a penalty shootout after Ghana had missed a last gasp penalty as Luis Suarez was red carded & will now miss the semi final.The Uruguyans who hadn’t lit up the tournament since losing to  Brazil in 1970′s  semi final,  started the brighter as the tournamen’ts most dynamic & prolific strike force of the superbly creative Diego Forlan & the lethal Louis Suarez caused the last african nation standing a lot of problems. Both had early chances as the South Americans dominated the opening quarter of the match as Ghana suffered serious stage fright, but as the match started to get into a terrific rhythmn as the possesion ebbed & flowed with the latin salsa beat dominated before the African drumbeat then began to make it’s presence felt.

The statisticians were left with twisted blood as the two sides began to produce identical figures & as the halftim whistle approached the two sides were sharing possesion equally. The deadlock was broken with a thunderbolt strike from Sully Muntari in injury time when he just found a yard & thumped one into the back of the net to bring joy to the entire host continent as the last standard bearers for Africa. The Uruguyans returned after the break with renewed purpose with Forlan now wearing the captain’s armband & starting to pull the strings once again they established temselves once more & the equaliser just had to come & when it did, it was a special strike befitting the huge occassion. Forlan took a free kick from the left of the penalty area & the bal seemed to swerve left & then right as it spun through the air leaving the Ghanain keeper Roger Kinsome  grasping at fresh air as it flew past him & into the far top corner. A great goal from a great player who has been one of the shining stars in the firmanent of this tournament. That the Ghanains had come to this tournament without the peerless Michael  Essien who for many of us is Roy Keane with a tan, they have greatly surprised. The Africans were able to bring on the superb Steven Appiah as the clock ticked down, injury plagued he may be but his footballing brain is still in excellent working order. The two sides seemed destined to go to extra time & that was as it proved with neither giving any quarter to the other. What was expected to be a war of attrition had turned into a joyous celebration of the beautiful game.  Against the USA in the last round the Ghanains had turned on the style but the first period of extra time saw both sides’ tired legs start to show with the Uruguyans just having the better of things. In the second half the ghanaians hit back as a series of excellent tight passes set up Asamoah Gyan but his bullet header was high wide & handsome as the match moved into the final ten minutes. Two minutes later Appiah had a half chance but the excellent Fussili managed to smother the threat & smuggle the ball to safety. It was almost a disasterous case of beam me up for Scotti as he almost put the ball in his own net as the clock ticked down to a penalty shootout. Portsmouth star Kevin Prince Boateng who had one of the games of his life almost nicked it with 90 seconds to go with a snap header which went wide & then the man who faced his own brother  in a group game nearly netted seconds later.

The game finished with a frenzy as Ghana had two shots on goal & then were awarded a penalty as Luis Suarez handballed & was red carded. Asamoah Gyan’s spot kick smacked off the bar & the two sides went to a shootout.

Fabio Capello is to stay on as England manager despite England’s woeful World Cup campaign, the FA  has confirmed.

Capello found himself under pressure after England’s run in the tournament ended with a 4-1 defeat to old foes Germany.This week the Italian was told the FA would decide on his future in two weeks.

“We remain convinced that Fabio is the best man for the job,” said Club England chairman Sir Dave Richards.

Second Round

SPAIN – 1 (Villa-62)

PORTUGAL – 0

A David Villa strike on 62 minutes sent Spain through to the Quarter-Finals after an exciting hour of action at the Green Point Stadium. However, despite some early promise, Portugal will have serious concerns about the desire of a team who appeared to be completely apathetic about the loss under the leadership of the uninspired and ever-petulant Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Spanish started brightly with Villa and Torres forcing three crucial, early saves from a massively impressive Eduardo who appeared to be the only one awake for Portugal in the early going.

Xavi and Iniesta re-iterated why they are perhaps the most dangerous midfield combination in world football today as their interplay seemed to open up Portugal at will. Had Villa or Torres been a second quicker to react on several occassions, then the Portuguese would have been in real trouble. More Portuguese palpitations awaited as Villa’s wayward cross nearly went the same way as Maicon’s did against North Korea. Eduardo could only watch as the ball, thankfully for him, sailed over.

Wake-up call received, Portugal set about their task and brought a frantic element to the game. It was end-to-end stuff. At one stage, Thiago’s edge of the box shot meant Casillas could only parry it into the air and was forced to punch the rebound away from a waiting Hugo Almeida. Moments later, Casillas was again forced to parry the ball after Ronaldo’s swerving free-kick from 37 yards brought another heart-in-mouth moment for Spain. The half had come full circle. The Portuguese now were creating the real chances while the Spaniards loomed but failed to make any genuine opportunities. An enticing second half awaited.

The crowd’s heart failures would continue almost immediately after the break, when Almeida’s attempt to square the ball in the 6-yard box for Ronaldo was deflected off the shin of Carlos Puyol. The ball appeared to momentarily travel in slow motion (figuratively speaking, that is, before anyone writes a letter of complaint to FIFA) as it inched over the bar. Portugal now appeared firm favourites to break the deadlock as the fist of Iker Casillas again came to the rescue when he punched away a cross from Raul Meirelles that would have surely found a waiting Ronaldo.

For their part, the Spanish appeared short on ideas up front. Vicente del Bosque opted to withdraw a broken looking Fernando Torres, who hadn’t featured beyond his first-minute test of Eduardo, in favour of World Cup debutant Llorente. The substitute appeared inspired as, within seconds, Llorente was free within the box to meet a Sergio Ramos cross. The excellent Eduardo came to the rescue again with a point blank save.

The Spanish were like a bull who had seen red. With the spring back in their step it only took a minute for them to break the deadlock. Some neat passing from Xavi and Iniesta at the edge of the box found Villa in space. Villa’s first shot was saved by the feet of Eduardo. He remained calm when the rebound landed back at his feet and, cool as you like it, chipped the ball over the unfortunate Portugal goalkeeper as it went in off the crossbar. The Spanish led and didn’t look back.

Carlos Quieroz seemed desperate to inject some fire back into the Portuguese, sending Liedson, Danny and Pedro Mendes on to give them a much-needed energy boost. It was wasted effort though. Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to disappear (into the pocket of Florentino Perez, conspiracy theorists may ponder?) as the Portuguese seemed resigned to their fate. Indeed, the Spanish appeared far more likely to add a second than their opponents were to even attempt an equaliser. Villa with the ball was akin to a dog with a bone as he desperately looked to add to his tally before being subbed to a standing ovation.

Sadly, the Portuguese exit from the World Cup was disappointing and drab. Ricardo Costa was dismissed for a soft elbow on Capdevilla. Even appealing the red card seemed to demand too much energy from his team mates at this stage. They put forth a tribute effort at the end but the necessary hunger and edge was severely lacking. Even as the final whistle blew, nobody but Eduardo appeared to be particularly distraught.

Their ‘valiant’ captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, defiantly stormed off the pitch and spat at the feet of the cameraman to illustrate whatever point he appeared determined to make. It was, put simply, a temper tantrum. And, despite their promise and attacking flare in the game against North Korea in particular, when push came to shove is it surprising that a team led by this man leave the World Cup any other way than sheepishly out the back door?

The Spanish advance to the Quarter-Finals and a fanciable draw against Paraguay. Fernando Torres is still to find his feet, but with Casillas, Villa, Xavi and Iniesta still firing on all cylinders they are still very much in contention for their first World Cup. And when your team can survive so capably with a player of Torres’ quality in such dire form…that’s an enviable situation for anyone.

Spain: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pique, Puyol, Capdevila, Alonso (Marchena), Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Torres (Llorente), Villa (Pedro).

Subs Not Used: Valdes, Reina, Albiol, Arbeloa, Fabregas, Javi Martinez, Silva, G Jesus Navas, Mata.

Portugal: Eduardo; Alves, Costa, Carvalho, Coentrao, Meireles, Pepe (Pedro Mendes), Tiago, Ronaldo, Simao (Liedson), Almeida (Danny).

Subs Not Used: Beto, Fernandes, Ferreira, Rolando, Miguel, Duda, Veloso, Ruben Amorim, Deco.

Referee: Hector Baldassi (Argentina)